My garage fridge is one giant Rock Auto magnet collection. I regularly troll their clearance items for spares... I buy the spares grouped by warehouse to avoid the shipping charge issue others have talked about. I have more spares for my 50 year old daily driver than I'll probably ever need.
Status report on last weeks Rock Auto orders. They are finally in the possession of the USPS for final delivery. They are in Virginia, Minnesota, which is kinda weird.
You guys do realize Advance auto parts and Car Quest are one in the same now that Advance bought them. Went into Advance the other day and bought parts that they pulled off their shelf that was Car Quest parts.
I buy a lot locally but I also buy a lot from Rock Auto. I will not use the DHL option for shipping anymore though , last time my order took two weeks to get here where with the other carriers it usually only takes two or three days. I'll pay a few bucks more and use USPS or UPS.
Here in the great white north [well, more black than white after the great asparagus patch fire] I got 4 Wix oil filters from Rock Auto cheaper [including postage] than I could get 2 "sorta Wix" filters from the local NAPA. No French instructions, though.
I have bought a lot of parts for my O/T daily, and have nothing but good things to say about them. The prices and selection are hard to beat, but the shipping can add up if you're not careful. I've bought factory original Mercedes parts for a quarter of what Auto Zone wanted for their house brand. That makes the shipping thing not such a big deal. Sent from my SM-G920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I hear that. I don't claim to be a brain surgeon, I don't even play one on TV. Whenever my wife's modern DD or my F250 act up, I open the hood, take a good long look around in there, say quietly to myself "WTF is all this sh**t ?", then I drop the hood and suggest closing the windows and turning the radio louder so we can't smell the frying electronics or hear the squealing. Works 1/2 the time. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
In a nutshell........Sadly , the more online retailers gobble up the small independent & brick & mortar market , i forsee state & local economies loosing tax revenue on a huge scale, in turn that most likely produces more online sales of chassis related parts because the pot holes & big chunks of missing concrete can't be repaired anymore because your state & city governments Are low on money Generated from selling items that produce local & state sales taxes . Not just the auto industry anymore. I like saving just as much as the next guy but I will keep it local as much as possible. I do realize we all have a bottom line & need to save all we can , but will we end up in an online world without any brick & mortar stores ..... independent & box to go to someday? Look at small town America & what box stores have done to it. Same thing might happen to box stores due to online sales? The online industry saves money by cutting out the middle guys & kills jobs & taxes. Not a rant just a sad observation. A typical part is now so cheap because use to it went through 5 steps of cost..... 1 manufacturer , 2 wharehouse distributor, 3 parts store, 4 mechanic, 5 consumer. Cut out steps 2,3 & 4 now you can buy online for cheap, in turn killing jobs & the very revenue that keeps local economies funded. Saving money has a side effect? Ever notice how crappy our infrastructure .... roads are nowadays. I ponder if it's already impacted many states ability to have enough funds to fix the roads. If online giants ever pay taxes to ship out of state, I bet they'll be states trying to get the big fat distribution centers in their territory . Odd times indeed......sorry so long, just my hypothesis. Flux
Flux, it's not just the online vendors that are killing local stores; the national chains have done their fair share too. Yelm is a small town, when I first moved here there was two local parts stores, both 'independents', both with very good counter service and if they didn't have the part in stock (usually did) could get it no later than the next day. No longer. First, O'Riellys came to town. That put pressure on the other two, one switched to being a NAPA, with subsequent changes in personnel and stocking policies that weren't an improvement. The remaining independent hung in there... until AutoZone opened. That store is now closed, leaving us with three chain stores, with only a few employees among the three stores that know anything with most being low-wage idiots that if it's not in the computer, they know nothing. Buying parts turned into this.... Call the local stores, who's got the part at a decent price? IF one claims they have it, drive to town (1/2 hour one way). Get there, more often than not it's the wrong part. Order the right part, go home. Hour-plus wasted plus fuel costs. Drive back to town the next day; still the wrong part... Do this a few times, and your faith in their abilities goes down. A case in point, I needed a 8" Ford axle bearing and wanted a name-brand bearing (SKS, Timken), one store said they could order one for me (none had one in stock) and for a change would order it for me without having to drive to town to pay for it first. Get to town and it's a off-brand offshore piece. Granted, not all the blame can be laid on the stores as the manufacturers have moved so much production offshore that finding US-made parts has become difficult. But if you don't need the part right away, is it any wonder that online buying starts to look good?
I bought a lot from them and no complaints. I used to buy locally , but as the older counter guys who actually knew something retired, and younger clueless if it's not on my computer it doesn't exist types took over, I lost patience buying locally.
Update on my Rock Auto Orders. I placed two orders a week ago Thursday. One was coming from Salt Lake City, and the other from Mason City, Iowa. Both were coming DHL, using the USPS for final delivery and they were not at the post office today, so now next week. I placed three other orders this week, two with Amazon (with one coming from Nashua, NH and the other coming from who knows where). I placed an order with Shoebox Central in Oklahoma City. All three showed up today, two USPS and the third UPS. I agree with the earlier poster; avoid their DHL ship option like the plague. BTW, I just tracked both orders, and the Mason City order is sitting in Chicago (and has for the last 3 days) while the Salt Lake City order is now in Waite Park, MN (75 miles south of me), after being in Virginia MN (125 miles north of me).
We don´t have any parts stores locally that carry US car parts. Not a single one in a 200 mile radius.So I´m kinda married to Rockauto... they are keeping me afloat. I often get my (overseas/ US!!)order within 3-4 work days ( if our German Customs don´t hold it back for a couple of days) at I price I could not buy a used Volkswagen part locally. (I ordered a few BMW parts from an online store in Berlin 2 week ago that didn´t show up until now...just for comparison) Rockauto rocks!
Yes , I'm 46 grew in independent parts business since put behind counter in a baby basket , love what i do & my 50 plus guys , We & one well trained younger guy have killer service & that is what simply what keeps us dinosaur old mom n pop stores open. The stuff I mentioned earlier coupled with what you said hit the nail on the head about the next generation , is why the times are so aggravating to those of us who knew what it was like in days gone by. I'm trying to "make America great again ". .... heard a spoof song the other day praising those of us who get up & work everyday , even tho they might not want to....I've fired 2 under 35 this year that ain't got that concept down yet. Flux
Flux, the sad part is NAPA used to be my 'go to' parts house before I moved to Yelm. I don't know if their corporate policies changed or if the local owner/operator is just an idiot, but this one hasn't lived up to the reputation I had come to expect. O'Riellys is the best of the three in terms of stocking (and has one young 'car guy' counterman that tries really hard) but so much of what they sell is off-brand offshore sourced with uneven quality that I hate to buy parts anymore from them or the other locals.
flux capacitor, you are dead on. I do try and support the locals when ever I can. I have two Napa stores nearby, one near work and the other about 15mi. from home. Both let me behind the counter to search for belts and hoses etc. They are both good stores and I would be lost without them. Their filters, fuel pumps, etc. are much better quality than the other two chain stores we have in the county.
I've had good experiences with Rock Auto, like has already been said, watch where the parts are coming from, different warehouses etc. I always buy the brand name/ factory parts when possible. Had more problems with shipping, lost packages, but these have been handled quickly and well by Rock, shipping replacements fast. And this is to me in Switzerland Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
I like to look up parts before I go to the store, using the internet and old paper catalogs. And then I check online and see if they have it in stock, and then call to double check, if it's something I need to make a special trip for or need it soon. This works for the chains that have web pages, such as OReilly's.
My only bad experience with RockAuto was my own fault. Ordered a pair of rotors for my son's O/T DD, and was stupid enough to think FWD meant four-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive. Ruined one before I figured out my error. It would have cost more to send back the one remaining good rotor than to buy at slight discount from my local parts house. RockAuto is great - selection, price, speed of delivery and they are available to talk to if you have questions. Knowledgeable.
That works if their inventory is correct, but I've been burned on this one several times too. I needed an alternator for my Xs late-model shitbox, none of the locals had one. O'Riellys checked surrounding stores, said one in Olympia had it (40 miles one way). I call and verify; yep, they say they have it. Drive down there, right box/part number, wrong part.... I'm not known for having good luck...
there's not much the store can do about that, even. I've encountered that a few times. Mostly, I get what I need.
I bought a service to rebuild a power steering pump. They kept it for about 3 weeks before telling me it couldn't be rebuilt. They wouldn't refund my shipping money, and wouldn't apologize for the long wait. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Yep RA for parts on my off topic Econoline. Will be ordering suspension and steering parts for my 63 Thunderbird next week. Great service a fast delivery to New Zealand. Even if they do go via Belgium though. Never been let down yet,,,
The only problem that I've ever had with the parts I've purchased from there was an unbalanced Flywheel. 1 out of over a hundred parts that I've ordered from them ain't bad. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using H.A.M.B. mobile app
I buy online as much as possible. The local town has the sales taxes above 10%. And when I go into a parts store They will be rude and talk to potential customers on the phone and make me wait. I checked the parts store prices online for a water pump for my wifes Jeep Cherokee. The cheapest was $86 plus taxes and not in stock they would have to order it. I bought the same rebuilt pump online for $31 and got free shipping. Me and a guy who has a hardware store and a auto parts store across the street. In Flux Capacitors stomping grounds Mammoth Spring had a discussion about the loss of sales tax revenue. And he did look up his price and I showed him the water pump and receipt. All I can say its my money and I will save every penny I can. Things change its how you deal with the changes that matter. And I have purchased from Rock Auto and done very good.
When I was young the local town had three parts stores. and two of them had machine shops in the back where you could get a crank turned, something milled, a block bored out, valve jobs ect. and also the big three car makers all had parts depts. now there are four parts stores and none of them stock the parts I need for my older junk. They dint even have a water pump gasket for a 250 chevy six. So I made my own. Then when I was in West Plains Mo.I bought a supply of a half dozen for a dollar each from a Place called Link Supply. Its a old building guy didn't have any internet. I think its now closed.
I have bought many different parts from them and have had good luck each time. Sent from my SM-J700T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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